hi let's talk about waldeyer's ring
in this video we'll discuss the relationship of waldeyer's ring to the pharynx
so waldeyer's tonsillar ring is a collection of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue that's found
in the pharynx these discrete clumps of malt as they're called are referred to as tonsils
and they represent a way for your body to deal with any pathogens that are taken in through the
aerodigestive pathway so anything inhaled through the nasal cavity or anything inhaled or consumed
through the oral cavity has to eventually bump up against mucosa that is hosting this malt tissue
these tonsils are sites of immune response so pathogens are brought into contact with
antigen presenting cells uh such as macrophages and dent druidic cells
also lymphocytes t cells b cells so as to raise an immune response now the several tonsils
that are located throughout the pharynx are the pharyngeal tonsil at the roof
of the nasopharynx the pharyngeal tonsil is oftentimes referred to as the adenoid the
adenoid is probably at its greatest size about five years of age and it tends to involute or
get smaller in acquiesce into the wall of the nasopharynx during late adolescence this
this tonsil can be quite large in young children so it can be implicated in obstructive sleep
apnea events and may opt may people may opt to remove it to help resolve that sleep apnea
just posterior to the opening of the auditory tube we have the tubal tonsils these tubal tonsils
are very small discrete clumps of malts tissue that that deal with materials as
they may enter into the auditory tube now within the oropharynx there's a set of palatine tonsils
that sit within the tonsillar fossae of the fossees the fosses is the region of the oropharynx
called the throat these palatine tonsils can sometimes be quite large and they can even
project out into the oropharynx when they become inflamed or during tonsillitis they can be quite
painful to any materials that pass over them and they can even occlude part of the airway
the palatine tonsils are the tonsils that people refer to as the tonsils
and they're the targets of tonsillectomy these palatine tonsils tend to involute
after puberty finally on the root of the tongue we have the lingual tonsil the lingual tonsil is
quite large and is what is coming into contact with any foodstuffs that pass over the dorsal
surface of the tongue if you notice these tonsils comprise a ring with the nasopharynx being the
superior portion of the ring and the oropharynx being the inferior portion of the ring the ring
is bisected by the soft palate so all together we have what is known as wall dyer's tonsillar ring
so we've discussed the several types of tonsils pharyngeal tubal
palatine and lingual this is your summary slide thank you very much for your time